History Main / HumansAdvanceSwiftly

* For a perfect example of how fast human society can advance, just look at the 20th century: In 1900, America was still on the tail edge of the cowboy age, and a mere 14 years later saw the start of World War I. The intervening 86 years saw the birth of nuclear energy, the automobile, the microprocessor, television, the telephone, motion pictures, flight, space travel, and even more cultural, medical and technological advances than can be easily counted. If you were to transport a person from 1900 to the year 2000, they would not recognize the world after a mere ''hundred'' years.

* This can, and will, come up in any fic in the [[WesternAnimation/MyLittlePonyFriendshipIsMagic MLP fandom that has anything to do with the meeting of man and pony]]. Humanity is virtually always depicted as more technologically advanced than Equestria, and tends to have done so in far shorter a period of time. Of course, this is as often used as a virtue of humanity as one of it's vices.....

* In the ''Literature/PerryRhodan'' universe, Arkonids have had an empire for 20 thousand years, Akonids have stopped caring about space and became reclusionist about that long ago. Yet neither has ever explored all the galaxy, not even talking about anything beyond. Humanity needs about 200 years from being gifted a drive to produce as many ships as the Arkonid empire, reverse-engineer a different type of hyperdrive, make the traditional one require way less fuel and jump way further, and find stealth methods to prevent detection of the use of the jump drives. In about 600 years Eath is destoyed and humans become kinda nomadic, leading to them travelling to other galaxies. At least the Terrans get help from some Arkonids and from the best microtechnicians in the known part of the galaxy. Until after a few hundred years mutated humans who are only 20 cm tall are better microtechnicians than the ones which used to help them.

** Dimensional manipulation for teleportation and [[TeleFrag 'Nexus Bombs']] (Jane Foster, HYDRA, and the Red Room), ** SHIELD and HYDRA successfully reverse engineering Destroyer-based energy weapons (enough that SHIELD feel comfortable giving [[Literature/TheDresdenFiles Harry Dresden]] his own Destroyer-based HandCannon), and in HYDRA's case, reverse engineering the Destroyer outright.

* The "brevity breeds progress" factor is used in Creator/IsaacAsimov's ''Robot'' series even though there aren't any alien life forms. "Spacers" (humans who live in one of the 50 space colonies) regularly live for upwards of 300 years and have stagnated; Earthers (humans on earth) live to be 70 or so and have advanced geometrically.

** The same then happens all over again in [[VideoGame/XCOM2 the sequel]], only this time with only two individuals doing all the researching and engineering with almost no resources and barely any support. Mankind still manages to kick the aliens' asses regardless.

* A major plot point in the ''VideoGame/{{Doom}}'' novelizations. Humans being the only species in the universe who aren't subject to reincarnate, this drove them to advance far more quickly than any other expected. At the end, another species is encountered which advances even faster.

* The human Systems Alliance in ''Franchise/MassEffect'' has, within thirty-five years of discovering ImportedAlienPhlebotinum on Mars, advanced to the point where it's seen as a threat to the current galactic order. Said galactic order has stood for 2800 years and has not had any significant technological advances since. In the [[VideoGame/MassEffect2 second game]] it's made clear that the majority of new technologies is coming from human sources. However, this is arguably the ''point'': every race discovered the same Phlebotinum that humanity did and has based their civilizations around it, [[BatmanGambit just as the Reapers planned.]] It is worth noting, however, that the ''geth'' as a species are actually advancing the fastest, and being a synthetic species, they're advancing technology in ways that the Reapers didn't intend.

** In the third game, the entire Quarian fleet is under threat from a single geth dreadnought, the largest dreadnought ever built.
** This trope is actually invoked during a conversation in the first game, where Liara comments that Humans are seen as bold and aggressive by many in the galaxy, but after spending time with them, she realizes that they're just incredibly driven. Shepard replies that, unlike the Asari who can live for over 1000 years, humans have to make the most of the 150 years or so given to them and don't like to waste time sitting on their hands.
*** Salarians only live for 40 years, and are stated by in-universe sources to have photographic memories and to be able to learn and think faster than other species, including humans. The salarians are not new arrivals, and discovered space travel shortly after the asari did, well over 1000 years ago. The problem is, they will overthink ''everything'' before making a decision about how to proceed. In comparison, Humanity is the only race brazen enough to admit that the ''real'' reason they want to try impossible things, is simply for no other reason than to prove they ''can'', just for the sheer hell of it all!
** This takes a much darker turn when [[spoiler: Humans become the first race to destroy a Mass Relay, when Shepard crashes an asteroid into one to prevent the Reapers from using the system as a beachhead to mount their invasion.]]
** The {{Precursors}} of the current "generation" of species, the Protheans, died out 50,000 years ago. Many of these species still remember the Protheans in their mythologies. This means they had to at least be at the Bronze Age of development (yes, there are {{Space Romans}} in this game) or somewhere thereabouts. Meanwhile, 50,000 years ago, humans hadn't gone past drawing on cave walls. Some species that remember the Protheans in their mythology (like the Asari) discovered the Citadel 2,000 years ago, while humans didn't have space travel until 200 years ago, and discovered their first mass relay a couple decades ago.

*** The Genii are about on par with WWII Earth, with near complete nuclear weapons (close enough that Rodney McKay's brains and a bit of C4 more or less finishes them off), guns, and radios. That being said, they don't have planes or similar technology, since their chief strategy for dealing with the Wraith (and everyone else) is leaving an apparent low-tech farming society on the surface, while the majority of them live in underground cities.

* In the ''Roleplay/GlobalGuardiansPBEMUniverse'', humanity has benefited from being the winner in two different alien invasions. The captured alien technology has aided in the advancement of the general tech level for planet Earth in general, to the point that the last species that tried to invade now see Earth as a threat to their own empire, rather than as a target for conquest.

* In ''Series/StargateSG1'', humanity advances swiftly through reverse-engineering captured alien technology (not to mention having the [[SufficientlyAdvancedAlien Asgard]] just ''hand'' humanity all of their technological knowledge). That said, this trope applies because it honestly seems as if ''no other species'' has had any significant technological advances in millennia. For example, the technology used by the Goa'uld of 3000 BC (as seen in the episode "Moebius") is no different from what is being used by the Goa'uld in the present day.
** Justified in the case of the Goa'uld. It is heavily implied that they have stolen all of their technology, as befitting their nature as parasites, and with the exception of one character, none of the race is ever shown to have any interest in developing technology on their own. They're much happier sitting on their thrones and ruling over legions of slaves.
** The only human civilization to consistently advance besides the Tau'ri are the Tollan, who are beating Earth humans by a few centuries (and they don't like to share their tech, so the Tau'ri never reverse engineer it like they do with Goa'uld and Asgard tech). Unfortunately for them, they also seem content to take a measured path towards progress. When Anubis finds a way to counter their only means of planetary defense, they agree to help him develop phasing [=WMDs=]... instead of using those against him.

* Played with in ''Videogame/EndlessSpace'''s [[HumansAreDivided multiple human factions]]. The Vaulters, a human empire originating from a LostColony, are among the best scientists in the known universe, but they are beaten by the eternally curious [[ProudScholarRace Sophon aliens]]. On the other hand, the Vaulters are not completely incompetent at combat [[CripplingOverspecialization like the Sophons are]]. The Pilgrims receive indirect science and cash bonuses via their ability to easily establish trade routes, and the United Empire and Sheredyn's industrial might allows them to churn out scientific data.

* In the ''Literature/Perry Rhodan'' universe, Arkonids have had an empire for 20 thousand years, Akonids have stopped caring about space and became reclusionist about that long ago. Yet neither has ever explored all the galaxy, not even talking about anything beyond. Humanity needs about 200 years from being gifted a drive to produce as many ships as the Arkonid empire, reverse-engineer a different type of hyperdrive, make the traditional one require way less fuel and jump way further, and find stealth methods to prevent detection of the use of the jump drives. In about 600 years Eath is destoyed and humans become kinda nomadic, leading to them travelling to other galaxies. At least the Terrans get help from some Arkonids and from the best microtechnicians in the known part of the galaxy. Until after a few hundred years mutated humans who are only 20 cm tall are better microtechnicians than the ones which used to help them.

** Also {{Subverted}}: as many Human characters pointed out, mankind has been just as slow advancing as the Lizards for most of its history, and wonder what exactly caused this sudden acceleration in technological advance.

* Creator/EEDocSmith:
** Played straight in the ''Literature/SkylarkSeries'' universe at least initially, with Dick Seaton going from UsefulNotes/{{World War One}}-era aviation technology to FTL spaceflight ''in a single jump''. After he gets to Osnome, it's either averted or subverted: almost everything he does from that time on relies in some part on knowledge or technology borrowed from, captured from, or granted to him by other spacefaring races, and his only edge seems to be an ability to put it together into a more seamless whole.
** The ''Literature/{{Lensman}}'' universe is, strangely enough, an ''aversion''. The big technological leaps require outside help. As in the ''Skylark'' universe, where the humans ''do'' excel is in terms of upscaling and application.

** To illustrate, they need Earth because their own home world is threatened by a black hole. By the end of the story, the ambassador reveals that not only have they managed to ''close'' the black hole, but they have also managed to terraform Venus. So yeah, they don't need our heavily polluted world with dumb apes. All races who discover humanity treat us the same way we may treat a mentally-retarded person.

*** Even more amazing in the Romulans' case: they were unable to build antimatter-powered ships even in TOS, and had to buy the technology and Klingon ships to acquire it, yet in both TOS and ENT their ships punch well above their weight ''even for antimatter-powered ships'' ([[GlassCannon their shields aren't so powerful, though]]), and by TNG they are ''ahead'' in engine technology. They are still somewhat behind in warp technology and their rivals have almost caught up in terms of firepower, though.
*** It should be noted, however, that the Romulans are also the smallest and weakest of the three main factions. They made up for quantity with quality, as it was the only way to ensure that both the Federation and the Klingons would consider fighting them more trouble than it was worth. If either of the two, or worse, ''both'' decided to fight a full on war with them, the Romulans would lose, and they know it. Their tech and capability lead isn't nearly enough to be a real balancing force.
*** The Romulans are actually far more powerful than either the UFP or the Klingons initially believe. Their technology is ahead of the Klingons (who even by the TNG era have yet to upgrade ships en masse) by some way, and is equal to that of the Federation. The main worry of the Federation is that any war with Romulus would be as costly as one with the Klingons, with both races having somewhat...different...ideas regarding the rules of engagement. Worrying about groups of a couple of Klingon Birds-of-Prey is one thing, even a single Romulan warbird would have theoretically unlimited range with which to operate under cloak, making any any all civilian ships and stations a potential target.

*** The Federation also used hardware from Kirk's day, such as the Miranda (from Star Trek II - The Wrath of Khan) and Excelsior (from Star Trek III - The Search for Spock) classes during the Dominion War. In both cases, this is likely due to being outnumbered and outgunned forcing them to BreakOutTheMuseumPiece just to keep up.
*** Or [[WatsonianVersusDoylist budget-minded producers reused old props rather than build new ones en masse.]]
*** Or the Klingon military-industrial complex ain't been quite right since Praxis exploded.
*** The Federation does seem to suffer significantly from ModernStasis itself. We were once shown an alternate timeline where the Feds and the Klingons were fighting a 20 year old war, and in all that time, there was only a 100% increase to shield strength. WWII tanks went from 15mm armor to 90 in 6. Plus, the Federation was losing.

** The technology of the galaxy is fairly stagnant at the start of the series because the Goa'uld were in power, and their race had very few individuals interested in science and found their level of technology sufficient to maintain control. It's implied that most of ''their'' advanced technology came from [[PuppeteerParasite subverting advanced races from within]] and [[PlanetLooters "borrowing" their tech]].
*** The only human civilization to consistently advance besides the Tau'ri are the Tollan, who are beating Earth humans by a few centuries (and they don't like to share their tech, so the Tau'ri never reverse engineer it like they do with Goa'uld and Asgard tech). Unfortunately for them, they also seem content to take a measured path towards progress. When Anubis finds a way to counter their only means of planetary defense, they agree to help him develop phasing [=WMDs=]... instead of using those against him.
** Later averted: in ''Series/StargateUniverse'', the Lucian Alliance sends ships to attack a Tau'ri outpost, and the ''Daedalus''-class in orbit is having a tough time holding them off... even with those nifty Asgard plasma beams that can kill seemingly anything in two shots. When questioned, the writers replied that it is a mistake to think that the rest of the galaxy's technology (in particular, their shields) is just going to remain stagnant while the Tau'ri continue to advance.
*** Well, most of Lucian Alliance members are human. Now that they have appropriated old Goa'uld technology and filled the power vacuum, it's stupid for them ''not'' to advance their tech. After all, they're still struggling against Earth and the Free Jaffa Nation. The Jaffa, though, don't appear to be willing to advance, which may spell doom for them.
*** That said, the ''Daedalus''-class ship was brand new and most likely not fully equipped yet. A fully powered, manned, and equipped ''Daedalus'' ship would have finished them off fairly quickly, though this would not have made for good television.
* In ''Series/BabylonFive'', Minbari were a starfaring civilization when humans were whacking at each other with swords. Now humans are at or near, depending on the specific technologies, the level of Minbari, and the Minbari seem to not have had a significant technological advance in a long while. The same applies to the Centauri. However, the trope is subverted in that most of humanity's major advancements since becoming a spacefaring power ''are'' Centauri and Minbari technology, [[ImportedAlienPhlebotinum or otherwise come from other races]]: the former gave them [[FTLTravel jump technology]], and many human weapons are based on Narn technology, which is itself pirated Centauri tech; the Minbari taught humans how to make ArtificialGravity technology when Earth agreed to join [[TheFederation the Interstellar Alliance]], and later also provided them with some of the technology used in the White Stars, with the human ''Marathon''-class cruiser appearing in the ExpandedUniverse being the only non-Minbari ship to use neutron weapons (presumably scavenged from some battlefield the Minbari forgot to clean, as the White Stars don't employ that technology); for the rest, [=EarthForce=] [[SpaceFighter Aurora-class starfuries]] are a reworking of an earlier model of starfury made with reverse-engineered Dilgar technologies (with Dilgar bolt weapons in particular being the basis for human pulse weapons), and the celebrated interceptors (point defence weapons so fast-firing and accurate to [[ShootTheBullet swat down of the sky enemy weapon fire]]. [[CurbStompBattle Enemy fighters are practically target practice]]) are based on technology taken from an abandoned alien ship, and Earthforce is frequently shown to be outright obsessed with obtaining alien technology for study and reverse-engineering.
** Before the White Star(s), Minbari technologically outclassed humanity in every area, to the extent that a war between them just a decade in the setting's past was a complete disaster for us. Humans were so outmatched that bringing down the Minbari's Black Star warship was considered the ONLY EarthForce victory in the entire war. In the postwar era, the Vorlons and Minbari contributed technologies that allowed humans to gain more ground on the more established interstellar races.
** For comparison, the new ''Warlock''-class destroyers are stated to be a one-to-one match to the Minbari ''Sharlin''-class warcruisers. However, numerically, humanity is still behind, as there are only about 50 ''Warlock''s in the fleet, while the Minbari have hundreds, if not thousands, of ''Sharlin''s.

* In ''VideoGame/SwordOfTheStars'', humanity built a military machine called [=SolForce=], capable of defending itself from the stagnant [[InsectoidAliens Hivers]] and [[LizardFolk Tarka]] who both beat us to the stars by a few millennia, in a matter of decades. Subverted in that humanity are still chump change compared to the Liir, who just popped up into the galactic scene from practically nowhere in a manner of years. In-game, the humans are second-best at research, behind the Liir and above the Hivers and Tarka. With ''A Murder of Crows'' they share the second place with the [[{{Precursors}} Morrigi]] in the beginning, but the latter's economy bonus means they zoom past humanity in research once they've started trading.

** Surprisingly subverted in the backstory if you look at the timeline; even before they began utilizing reverse-engineered Forerunner technology, the Elites, Drones, and Jackals had already made it to space by 938 BCE, 1112 CE, and 1342 CE respectively, despite all being at the same tech level as humanity 100,000 years ago, with the pre-Covenant Elites in particular having already developed technology comparable to 26th century humanity's.

* Discussed in ''VideoGame/XenobladeChroniclesX''. All humanity's recent inventions that allowed them to avoid being blown up along with Earth, including FTL travel, mechas, forcefields and [[spoiler:RidiculouslyHumanRobot bodies]] were all developed within the last 30 years. [[BigBad Luxaar]] is rather frustrated that such [[FantasticRacism "primitive"]] creatures could have such technology. [[spoiler:Subverted when it's revealed that all of said tech came from Elma's people.]]

* This is one of the driving themes behind ''Webcomic/SchlockMercenary''. However, it's ultimately subverted; the main galaxy-changing human invention (the teraport) has actually been created numerous times; it's just that time around, due to the inventor joining a highly competent mercenary company by pure chance and spamming the galaxy with the design once he realized what was happening, the secret got out before it could be suppressed.

** Outside of religious dogma, the other big factor seemingly constricting the Covenant's advancement was that R&D in general was mostly reserved for only two species; the Engineers, who by the deliberate design of their original Forerunner creators were far more interested in improving the functionality of pre-existing technology as opposed to creating new inventions, and the Prophets, who despite their intelligence were simply far too few in number to ever match humanity's collective brainpower.

* One of the great advantages of humanity in ''VideoGame/XCOMEnemyUnknown''. In a matter of months, humanity goes from being armed with conventional weapons - akin to peashooters when compared to the aliens' equipment - to reverse-engineering their armor, power sources, weaponry, and psionics to field soldiers better armed than the enemy's frontline troops, and equipping fighter craft that are better-armed than their ''battleships''. [[spoiler: That was all part of the Ethereals' plan; they wanted an intelligent, strong species to add to their collective, and humans were ideal to that end. Too bad for them that humanity proves [[GoneHorriblyRight too good at the job]].]]
** Specifically, they wanted [[spoiler:a strong, smart race that was also capable of using [[PsychicPowers the Gift]], since most of their other subjects are, basically, failures]].

*** The only human civilization to consistently advance besides the Tau'ri are the Tollan, who are beating Earth humans by a few centuries (to the point where their tech is simply declared non-replicateable, while Goa'uld and Asgard tech, apparently, is replicateable). Unfortunately for them, they also seem content to take a measured path towards progress. When Anubis finds a way to counter their only means of planetary defense, they agree to help him develop phasing [=WMDs=]... instead of using those against him.

*** ''Series/StarTrekDiscovery'' does show that the Klingons seemed to have developed cloaking tech all on their own. Previously, the commonly-accepted fan theory (stated in several novels) was that it was due to a technology exchange with the Klingons during a short-lived alliance (explaining why Romulans are using Klingons ships in a few TOS episodes). While it's still possible for T'Kuvma to have obtained the tech from a Romulan or a Suliban, this isn't mentioned. At least one Klingon House has pretty advanced surgical techniques, which can be used to [[spoiler:create a ManchurianAgent that passes all Federation testing]].

** It's revealed that the Klingons got a jump-start on their technology when an alien race known only as the Hur'q invaded [=Qo'noS=]. After kicking them out (to the point where there are no Hur'q to be found), the Klingons appropriate their technology and embark on a quest to conquer the galaxy. [[KlingonScientistsGetNoRespect Scientists are treated like crap in their society]], as are doctors, although there are some indicators that this is a fairly recent development. Archer's Klingon lawyer explains that his used to be a revered profession, as well as his father's, who was a teacher. Now, all Klingons think that honor and glory belong only to warriors (including those who slaughter defenseless civilians). The ''IKS Gorkon'' novels show how difficult it is for a doctor and an engineer (both of whom are women, although that is irrelevant in Klingon society outside of politics) to make significant changes in Klingon society due to social taboos.

*** The Federation also used hardware from Kirk's day, such as the Miranda (from Star Trek II - The Wrath of Khan) and Excelsior (from Star Trek III - The Search for Spock) classes during the Dominion War.

** Also, the Chaos Dwarfs primarily power their technology through daemonic possession, and the Skaven power their machines with warpstone (which has a tendency to mutate anything it touches, if it doesn't just explode) and many of their machines explode before they can build a second one. Plus, their are Dwarfs who will use machines without testing them for two centuries, but they usually head to the human city of Nuln, [[{{Irony}} meaning that the only Dwarfs who might actually innovate at a decent rate are doing it for the human empire.]]